The Attorney-General has said a water supply issue that left staff and inmates at Westgate Correctional Facility short of tap water and flushable toilets is now “under control”.

Kim Wilkerson, who is also the Minister of Justice, addressed the issue during the Senate session this morning.

A source close to the prison provided an update saying the situation caused rising tensions within the prison population as problems persisted through the weekend — such that some inmates refused to be locked in their cells until the issue was rectified.

Ms Wilkerson told the Senate: “In recent days, urgent plumbing repairs required the supply to be shut off at intervals. Working with [the Department of] Works and Engineering, the repair was completed on Sunday and the water supply has been restored.

“During the disruption, the department put interim measures in place to maintain sanitation and security, including additional staffing. I thank the officers of the Department of Corrections, the staff of works and engineering and the Bermuda Police Service, which stood ready to assist. This episode will inform the department’s business continuity planning.”

Tawana Tannock, independent senator, asked whether prisoners were refusing to be locked in their cells without water, which comes after the Detention Standards Review panel gave specific instructions on health and safety.

Ms Tannock said: “How has this recommendation been impacted and what steps have been taken to ensure that, if people are being locked in their cells, that there are necessary health and safety measures? If there is not, what do we do?”

Ms Wilkerson confirmed there was a refusal of a maximum-security inmate to be locked in their cell because of the matter.

She added: “They always had drinking water, but the challenge was around flushing. What this would have meant was that they would have to require an officer come to them to be let out, to go to the facilities where water was working.

“I want it to be clear that there was only a short time when the whole facility was down, so these were staged repairs and that, at a point, some of them didn't work and there was further work to retrofit.

“Recognising the challenge and being short-staffed, requiring service to actually let people out of their cells, a decision was made to leave them open.”

She said that overall, sanitation was maintained throughout.

“This incident informs that our current plans certainly need to be reviewed. They need to be made more robust so that we have ready plans for rehousing.

“In the event that the entire facility was to go down, there would be challenges, so it is something that has to be addressed.”

A spokesman for the Ministry of National Security said this afternoon that water service had been restored at the prison with the work being completed yesterday.

He said: “An initial repair restored service on Friday, September 25, but a further failure caused another interruption.

“The Department of Public Lands and Buildings worked through the weekend with its plumbing contractor and the Government Water Section to install a replacement connection and restore the supply.

“The Ministry apologises to staff and those in custody for the disruption. While repairs were under way, we worked with the Department of Corrections to maintain essential operations and provide access to water.”

The spokesman added that the government will continue to monitor the system and a full assessment of the island’s correctional facilities is expected to be completed shortly.

He said: “This assessment will establish the scope of work needed to address longstanding issues and guide the Government’s plans for significant investment in these facilities.”

A source told The Royal Gazette this morning that inmates were demanding that Keeva Joell-Benjamin, the Commissioner of Corrections, address them in person.

The source added: “Partial water service has been restored at Westgate although the major repair work that was done over the weekend failed. The Government instituted a workaround to get some flowing water back into the facility.

“As a result, some tap water is working, although not yet safe to drink, so the facility is still providing bottled water. Some toilets are flushing, and some showers are working. The issue now appears to be low water pressure.”

Meanwhile, Dennis Brown, the former president of the Prison Officers Association, posted on social media about maintenance at Westgate, saying it was “time to stop using band-aids when surgery is required”.

He wrote: “Maintenance concerns within our prisons have been known and documented for many years, even before 2019.

“Having spent many years working within the correctional system, including serving as president of the Prison Officers Association, also being a senior officer who at times had to report these same defects, I have seen this problem from different perspectives.

“Maintenance defects were discussed years ago, and I would not be surprised if some of the issues being discussed today are descendants of problems identified many years earlier.

“Correctional facilities hold senior management meetings where operational and infrastructure defects are raised. The question therefore should not simply be, ‘why didn't the prison administration identify the problem?’

“The more important questions are, ‘when was the problem first reported? Who was responsible for addressing it? What priority was assigned to it? Was funding approved? And why was it allowed to remain unresolved?’

“That is where accountability must begin.”

The Ministry of Justice said on Friday night that the issue had been resolved, but it is understood that problems continued into the weekend.

A spokeswoman said at the time: “The Department of Public Lands and Buildings, working with its plumbing contractor, has completed the necessary repairs and is monitoring the repaired line to ensure the joints remain secure. Once confirmed, the area will be concreted.

“The issue is understood to be related to conditions associated with the facility’s location on reclaimed land.

“Contingency measures were put in place in co-ordination with the Department of Corrections to support essential activities and maintain continuity of operations while repairs were carried out.”

David Burt announced that the Ministry of Justice would receive $57.7 million, an increase of $2.9 million in the 2025-26 Budget.

The Premier said on that occasion that the Budget would allow the Department of Corrections to make “long overdue” repairs at Westgate and increase staffing.

The ministry was allocated $63.24 million in the 2026-27 Budget, an increase of $5.5 million.

Ms Wilkerson said then: “We are addressing longstanding issues within the facilities, $638,000 in capital funding will replace outdated furniture and essential fixtures.

“These upgrades may seem small but they directly improve safety, daily operations and the overall environment for staff and inmates alike.”

The Gazette has approached the Prison Officers Association for comment.